“Let me just explain something, the reason why I chose not to do the Aaliyah movie had nothing to do with the haters or people telling me that I couldn’t do it, that I wasn’t talented enough, or that I wasn’t black enough. It had nothing to do with that. … The main reasons were that the production value wasn’t there, there were complications with the movie rights, and I just felt like it wasn’t being handled delicately considering the situation.” (RumorFix)

A source told E! News that there were production issues, including problems obtaining the rights to Aaliyah’s music. The R&B star and Queen of the Damned actress died at age 22 in a plane crash on Aug. 25, 2001. “Aaliyah has always been an inspiration to Zendaya,” the source said. “She was honored to portray her and pay tribute to her. If she is going to do it, she wants to do it right.” (E! Online)